Bio
Melissa MacKay (she/her), MPH, Ph.D., is a Digital Policy Hub post-doctoral fellow who specializes in health, risk and crisis communication, as well as health promotion. Previously a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Guelph’s Health by Design Lab, she focused on developing a modernized health communication framework and using artificial intelligence for tailored health communication. Her research employs qualitative and mixed methods and evidence synthesis, and emphasizes knowledge mobilization for impact. Her dissertation examined trust in public health communication during the COVID-19 pandemic and she is the lead author of the Social Media Crisis Communication Guidebook for Public Health. Melissa teaches in the MPH program at the University of Guelph and has extensive experience in public health and knowledge mobilization.